A Good Woman is Hard to Find (2019)
Directed by: Abner Pastoll
Written by: Ronan Blaney
Starring: Sarah Bolger, Edward Hogg, Andrew Simpson, Jane Brennan, Caolan Byrne, Packy Lee
Release Date: 25 October 2019
Available on: Amazon Prime Video

As my parents continue to labour under the delusion that I require supervision, my late-night viewing remains subject to the approval of my grandmother, who, until recently, considered Neighbours from the 1980s the height of television drama. Fortunately, my campaign of cinematic re-education is showing results. She now watches films with me instead of simply sitting there like a British Board of Film Censors plus toilet breaks. I suspect I can soon escalate to some truly sicko Korean stuff without much resistance. For now, A Good Woman is Hard to Find served as an excellent test case—a film about what happens when you stop trusting the system and start taking out the trash yourself. Despite a bit of tutting over the claw hammer scene, I think she enjoyed it as much as I did.

Sarah Collins (Sarah Bolger) is a recently widowed mother trying to hold her life together after her husband’s unsolved murder. The police, as useless as ever, dismiss his death as just another criminal dispute and refuse to investigate further. Meanwhile, Sarah struggles with the financial and emotional weight of raising two children, one of whom—her young son—has been traumatised into silence after witnessing his father’s brutal killing.

Enter Tito (Andrew Simpson), a low-life drug dealer on the run, who barges into Sarah’s life, forcing her to hide his stolen stash in her home. This sets off a chain reaction that brings her into direct conflict with the vile and sadistic crime boss Leo Miller (Edward Hogg), a man who has elevated cruelty to an art form. The result is a steady, inevitable transformation: Sarah, abandoned by the state and with no allies to turn to, realises that the only person who can protect her and her children is herself. And so, she does exactly what she must.

Sarah Bolger carries the film with an intense, utterly believable performance. She is not some pre-packaged action heroine, but a real woman forced into extraordinary circumstances. Her transformation from a helpless widow into a cold-blooded executioner is gradual and painful, making her eventual acts of violence all the more satisfying. When she finally takes matters into her own hands, it feels like the fulfilment of an unspoken contract between the viewer and the film: justice will be done, no matter the cost.

Edward Hogg, as Leo Miller, is every bit as repulsive as a crime boss should be. He is the kind of villain who can do unspeakable things with a claw hammer and make it seem like just another day at the office. He meets a suitably grisly fate, and one can only wish it had lasted longer. Andrew Simpson’s Tito is excellent as the sort of bottom-feeder who gets by in a world without consequences, but a real pleasure of the film is seeing him put exactly where he belongs.

This is a film that should resonate with anyone who has even the faintest libertarian instincts. It offers a stark and unflattering portrayal of the police as the useless pigs they always are the moment anyone actually needs them. They exist, as ever, to protect their own power and do nothing for the people they claim to serve.

And so, the message is clear: if you want justice, you have to go out and take it yourself. More importantly, you need to make sure you have the tools to do so. Sarah’s initial helplessness is entirely due to the state’s refusal to uphold its end of the social contract. When she arms herself and acts, she ceases to be a victim and becomes something far more interesting. That is what makes this film so satisfying: it does not simply acknowledge the corruption and incompetence of the authorities—it revels in the necessity of individual action.

So, A Good Woman Is Hard to Find is a film about survival, justice, and the limits of what a person can endure before hitting back. It is violent, bleak, and exhilarating. It understands that in a world where the law serves only itself, justice must be personal. And if the criminals and the cowards in power do not like that—well, that’s too bad for them.

Would I recommend this film? Absolutely. Especially to anyone who, like me, has long since given up on the idea that justice will ever come from above.